Warlock Apprentice

Half an hour later, everyone left the manor.

The No. 1 butler hovered at the manor gate, looking at the departing crowd with reluctance until they disappeared from sight.

After leaving, Angel thought they would fly straight to the Transmission Hall, but to his surprise, Sanders led everyone to a typical high black carriage.

Riding a carriage? Although Angel was puzzled, he didn’t ask and got into the carriage directly.

Inside the carriage, magic patterns for spatial expansion were engraved, resembling a small private room. Although it was not spacious, the three of them sitting inside did not feel crowded.

Angel remembered the last time he took a carriage in Sky Mechanical City, it was due to the Sky Auction. At that time, Sanders, out of the traditional nobility’s habit, chose to take a carriage to such an invited gathering.

This time, what for? Was it to accommodate Asaz?

They were all Official Wizards, and with Angel as a member of the Research and Development Institute, flying in Sky Mechanical City would not trigger an alert from the Magic Energy Eye. But Asaz was different. Not to mention whether he could fly for long periods, just his status as an apprentice meant he couldn’t freely take to the skies in the main city—a rule of Sky Mechanical City.

However, Angel was still puzzled. If this were the case, did Sanders know in advance that Asaz would leave with them? Otherwise, how could he have arranged a carriage in advance?

Although Angel was curious, he decided not to ask.

After all, whether by carriage, walking, or flying, it was just a difference in the time taken to reach the same destination.

With this in mind, Angel stopped pondering and closed his eyes for a nap, taking the opportunity to think about the design of the alchemy blueprint.

About ten minutes passed when Greya’s voice of doubt broke the silence in the carriage.

”This road doesn’t seem to lead to the Transmission Hall?”

Angel opened his eyes and saw Greya looking at Sanders, her expression puzzled.

Angel looked outside and sure enough, the carriage was not heading towards the Transmission Hall. Following the normal route, the carriage should have entered the main city and driven straight down the spacious main road to reach the Transmission Hall in the Central Region.

But now, the carriage seemed to have veered onto a side path.

Facing Greya’s confusion, Sanders said calmly, ”We’re not going to the Transmission Hall; we’re going directly to the Barbarian Cave’s outpost here.”

”Why?” Greya asked with a frown.

Sanders looked at Greya quietly and, after a long silence, said, ”The Corridor Agreement.”

Greya was taken aback, as if realizing something.

The Corridor Agreement was actually an agreement led by the Sky Mechanical City with major Witcher Organizations and various national Wizard Families for teleportation access.

In short, it was an agreement where the major organizations collaborated with the Space Mage and Alchemists of Sky Mechanical City in their territories or jurisdiction areas to build medium- and long-distance Teleportation Arrays leading to Sky Mechanical City.

It was a mutual assistance agreement, allowing major organizations to travel elsewhere more conveniently while also allowing Sky Mechanical City to quickly become a trade center and transportation hub.

However, this mutual assistance agreement was not wholly beneficial. For example, it was like burying a pit at one’s doorstep. The benefits outweighed the drawbacks in times of peace, but in a state of war, it could become a shortcut for enemies, turning into the biggest drawback. Moreover, due to the agreement, it couldn’t be arbitrarily terminated.

Therefore, some large Witcher Organizations did not join the Corridor Agreement and naturally couldn’t teleport over.

The Barbarian Cave was one of them.

Barbarian Cave did not join the Corridor Agreement, so there was no teleportation point built, resulting in the Barbarian Cave area being marginalized by alchemy for a long time, sometimes not even having a proper Energy Stabilizer.

However, this also ensured Barbarian Cave’s safety, at least preventing other organizations from launching surprise attacks through teleportation.

”Barbarian Cave is not a signatory of the Corridor Agreement, so the Transmission Hall cannot directly reach Barbarian Cave. They can only go to a nearby teleportation point, with the closest being quite familiar to you,” Sanders said softly.

Greya: ”Eternal Night Country...”

Due to the arrival of the dome, the Eternal Night Country was in chaos, with the nation in ruins and extremely dangerous. Teleporting there was indeed not a good choice.

But if they didn’t go to the Eternal Night Country, they could go to other teleportation points, right? Just as Greya was about to ask, Sanders had already given the answer—

”This time we’re not using the Transmission Hall; we’ll directly return through the Plane Corridor.”

Greya frowned. Although Official Wizards used Plane Corridors, the cost was too high, almost consuming an average wizard’s entire fortune. It wouldn’t be used unless necessary, while using the Transmission Hall required much less expense.

So, Greya was puzzled by Sanders’ decision.

”The cost of this Plane Corridor trip will be reimbursed by Horus at the outpost, including this carriage, which was also arranged by Horus,” Sanders said softly.

Greya froze for a moment, not understanding the implication.

Sanders didn’t hide it and quickly explained the situation.

It turned out that when Horus came to Sky Mechanical City, besides overseeing the outpost, he was tasked with another mission: if Angel was threatened or desired, take him back to the Barbarian Cave.

And this task required the use of the Plane Corridor, with all expenses covered by the Barbarian Cave.

Hearing this, Greya understood.

In other words, this was a special privilege channel!

Greya: ”Do you mean that Angel can have all expenses reimbursed every time he takes advantage of Horus to return to Barbarian Cave?”

Sanders: ”That should be the case, as long as Angel himself is willing.”

Reimbursed every time? Greya’s eyes twitched; that was a staggering sum. Even as the controller of the Candy House, she didn’t have such guts.

Probably only a large organization like the Barbarian Cave could be so generous.

Although Greya was filled with envy and jealousy, she had to admit that it was normal for Barbarian Cave to open this privilege channel for Angel, given his value.

By ensuring Angel’s safety, Barbarian Cave could potentially send large numbers of talented individuals to Ashileia Comprehensive College to study alchemy, recruiting more alchemy talents back to Barbarian Cave. Most importantly, Angel was a member of the Research and Development Institute, and he had the right to gain first access to all the Institute’s outcomes and promote them within the Barbarian Cave.

This was just the impact Angel brought. Considering Angel’s own alchemy talent... Greya sighed. If Angel were part of Candy House, she estimated she would grit her teeth and cover the Plane Corridor expenses for Angel as well.

Angel, having listened to the conversation between Sanders and Greya, felt no major emotional fluctuations. He simply pondered whether, in the future, the reimbursed Plane Corridor expenses could only be met through Horus. Could he directly apply to get the materials himself... Although he wasn’t short on money, spending less was still good.

As Angel was engrossed in his thoughts, the carriage came to a stop.

The outpost of the Barbarian Cave had arrived.